


Carry Me

by Kugelschreiber (Slang_Jesus)



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Drinking, First Dates, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Bed, but not really?, not quite canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slang_Jesus/pseuds/Kugelschreiber
Summary: "God, maybe Killua’s right, he thought,I really am an old man if one night of partying can take me out like this.He brought his hands to his face and he threw himself back onto his bed with a pained groan.He was not expecting the equally pained groan in response."----Leorio wakes up from a night out and has to piece his evening back together.He's not too upset with the results.
Relationships: Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 21
Kudos: 150





	Carry Me

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this! It was a lot of fun to write. When I wrote this I imagined the characters as approximately post-canon age, but I didn't really stick to canon events consistently for this... So for clarification, Gon & Killua are 15, Kurapika is 21, and Leorio is 23.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome sibling (OhYaBettaDont on ao3) for reading and re-reading this for me, and being patient when it took me approximately 100 calendar years to get updates out. I love you <3
> 
> Title is from a song I loved listening to this summer and couldn't pick lyrics out of for a decent title, so it's just the name of the song by The Original Crooks & Nannies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXf0ySre5qM

Leorio opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. The room was too bright with the morning sun and it made his head pound. Luckily, it seemed the gods of drinking and merriment spared him with only a killer headache and not the debilitating stomach pains he usually suffered when hungover.

He threw his arm out to feel around on his bedside table for his phone. He grimaced at the screen that told him it was 8:15am. The last time he remembered seeing was 2:45am, and at that point he was still out. Hell, he hadn’t even _thought_ to call a cab at that point, which means that best case scenario, he got about 5 hours of sleep.

As if the time wasn’t enough of a confirmation, the aches in his body told him he probably went a little too hard the night before. _God, maybe Killua’s right,_ he thought, _I really am an old man if one night of partying can take me out like this._ He brought his hands to his face and he threw himself back onto his bed with a pained groan.

He was not expecting the equally pained groan in response.

He froze, exhaustion left and was immediately replaced with sobering fear. _Don’t panic,_ he told himself, despite his racing heartbeat. Slowly, so as to not disturb the person next to him, he turned his head to the side.

A painfully scrunched up face and a mess of shiny blonde hair met his eyes. Leorio immediately relaxed, _Oh good it’s just Kurapika,_ his brain supplied as he sank back into his pillow, before memories from the night before rushed back to him.

He felt his tired eyes widen in horror as he realized the implications of the situation. _Holy shit Kurapika is in bed with me._ Panicked, he lifted the blankets slightly and winced at the sight of his ratty boxers and undershirt-turned-nightshirt; an outfit that screamed “I was wearing this yesterday”. _Could be worse, I guess._

The blonde stirred and Leorio stiffened immediately. _Oh god,_ he thought as he closed his aching eyes and pretended to be asleep, _he is going to fucking KILL me if this hangover doesn’t beat him to it._

\-------

The other night, Leorio had agreed to attend the opening of a new art gallery that Zepile had promised would be, “the time of your life, bro!” and “a once in a lifetime opportunity, man!” etc. etc. before revealing that he really just needed a support squad. Apparently, the girl he liked was featuring a piece at the gallery and Zepile had promised he would drum up some foot traffic for the opening.

“She’s the real deal,” Zepile had said when they got drinks together last, “I can tell these things, you know. I just… could use a little support, to make sure I don’t chicken out, you know?” 

“Sure man, could be fun actually. I haven’t gotten the chance to do much besides studying lately.” Leorio tipped his beer towards his friend and they clinked their bottles together before taking a drink.

“I uh, was thinking about taking her to dinner beforehand,” Zepile said nervously, looking down at the beer clutched in his hands.

Leorio looked across the table at his friend. Zepile had never been this nervous in front of him about anything, not even the time he came over the night before Zepile re-took the Hunter exam. He could tell this meant a lot to him, but best friend or not, there was only a certain level of awkwardness he was willing to endure for friendship’s sake. 

He leaned back in his seat and sighed. “Yeah? Well you two have fun then, I’m not about to third wheel a dinner _and_ a first date. I’ll just meet you at the gallery when you’re done.”

Zepile whipped his head up, a terrified expression on his face. “N-no wait, I need you there! What if I freak out in the middle of dinner or something?”

Leorio shrugged. “Sorry buddy, but dinner date is where I draw the line. At least at the gallery I can walk away and entertain myself if you two really hit it off. I’m not about to sit at the table while the two of you make goo-goo eyes at each other.” Leorio raised his beer to take another sip and grinned across the table. “Or worse, I have to watch you completely flop in front of this girl and suffer intense second-hand embarrassment.”

“Hey!” Zepile protested, his outburst forcing a burst of mocking laughter out of Leorio. “Tch. Dickhead.” he mumbled as he brought his beer up for another drink.

After a moment, Zepile’s eyes lit up and a grin stretched across his face. “Maybe you could bring someone too.”

Leorio let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Yeah? Like who? You gonna set me up on a blind date with one of this girl’s friends?” His dating prospects since he’d started school had started off less than impressive, and grown into non-existent as classes proved more challenging.

His friend leveled him with a knowing look as he brought his beer to his lips. “How’s our friend KP doing?”

Leorio blanched at the nickname. He’d drunkenly confided in Zepile about his feelings for Kurapika during what he would call “the dark months” of texts and phone calls going completely unanswered from his reckless Hunter friend. Recently, Kurapika had been a little more responsive to his texts and calls than he had been during those times, but Leorio felt it was still a little early in their renewed friendship to ask something like… whatever Zepile was implying.

“He’s… fine,” Leorio tentatively answered, not wanting to give Zepile too many details, lest they be used against him later.

Zepile hummed into his beer before taking another sip. “Well, if he’s fine, and you’re fine, it sounds like the two of you are doing fine, hm?”  
Leorio frowned. “Uh, yeah, I guess?” What the hell was Zepile getting at?

His friend grinned _(menacing bastard)_ , “Well if the two of you are doing fine, you should be fine _together_ , right? It’s just one night man, and it might give you a chance to talk more with our good buddy KP.”

Leorio blanched and stammered his way through an excuse, “Uhh… I don’t know man, it, like, _really_ sounds like a _date_ date, you know? I don’t want to like… freak him out enough that it goes back to how we were before,” his gaze traveled down to his now half-empty bottle, “I don’t want to lose him again.”

Zepile’s face softened. “Hey, you don’t know that he’s gonna take it badly,” he elbowed Leorio playfully, “Plus, you don’t have to call it a date. Bros go out together all the time! Look at you and me, we’re out together right the hell now and I wouldn’t call this a _date_ date. Just a… a friend date!”

Leorio gave him an unimpressed glare, which Zepile met with amusement. “Regardless, hanging out with him all night sounds a hell of a whole lot better than third-wheeling though, doesn’t it?”

He gave it some thought. He had only seen Kurapika twice since he waltzed back into his life - once while he was on a midnight-study-snack-run, and a second time over a too-loud dinner at York New’s dingiest family-friendly restaurant with Gon and Killua. The texts were good, great even compared to the months of silence, but it would be nice to get a chance to actually catch up in-person. Maybe this could be that chance.

Plus, Kurapika knew Zepile well enough to know that the dude is a disaster around girls, and while Leorio has matured a lot since he and Kurapika met during the Hunter Exam, he still has a lot of room for improvement. They could both use all the help they could get.

Leorio slammed his open palms on the table and turned to his friend, serious expression fixed to his face despite the embarrassed blush growing brighter at the tips of his ears. “Fine, FINE. But I am not calling it a date, ‘friend-date’ or otherwise. AND,” he pointed at his friend for emphasis, “You have to be chill. I don’t want him thinking that this is a date or that I’ve like, tricked him into something. I’m trying to ease back into this friendship and I really, really don’t want to screw it up. Deal?”

Zepile smiled and reached out a hand, “Deal.”

They shook on it.

\-------

_So much for easing back into our friendship,_ Leorio thought as he laid in bed and continued to play possum. 

Next to him, he felt Kurapika burrow deeper into the pillows. After several seconds, he apparently found a comfortable position and let out a satisfied grunt as he stilled. Leorio dared to crack an eye.

Kurapika’s earlier burrowing had led him to lay in the spot directly between the two side-by-side pillows on Leorio’s bed. His mouth was slightly open and it appeared that he was letting out little huffs of breath with every exhale. Leorio could see the top of one of his shoulders, clad partially in a t-shirt that looked a couple sizes too big to be his own. His hair stuck up in a dozen different places, and as Leorio noticed this, sunlight poured in through his dingy apartment windows, causing Kurapika’s mussed hair to let off a gentle shine.

_Oh my god he looks like a fucking angel,_ Leorio’s brain supplied before he could stifle his sappy thoughts. He winced slightly, a wave of pain in his temple reminding him of his hungover state. _I’ve gotta call Zepile, maybe he knows what happened_ , he thought as he slowly began to sit up, _that asshole is the reason I’m here with fuzzy memories in the first place!_

Before he could get into a good sitting position, he felt another rustle next to him and panicked before an arm was gently slung over his waist. Not pulling or demanding, but just… present. He looked over to Kurapika’s still peacefully asleep face and let out a huffed laugh. _I guess this is how cat owners feel when their cat falls asleep on their lap_ , he mused, taking a pause in his panic to marvel at the scene in front of him, at this impossible situation, and at his own stupidity.

\------

The day after he agreed to help Zepile out, Leorio had a grueling day of school. When he finally returned to his apartment after twelve hours of classes, group projects, and intermittent library study time, he was completely wiped out and ready to relax before doing it all again on Monday.

Just as he was about to settle in for some mindless TV, his phone chimed.

**Zepile:** see u tomorrow bud! u talk to KP yet?

He sighed. As if the prospect of making that call didn’t already stress him out enough, Zepile had been texting him throughout the day to make sure Leorio remembered his promise. He’d been worried about the best way to frame the conversation so that the art gallery would 1. Not look like an actual double date, 2. Not give away his feelings as much as possible, and 3. Would actually convince Kurapika to come along.

He’d gone through several possibilities for how to start this conversation, but as soon as he got the nerve to pick up his phone and make the call, he instantly forgot everything.

The phone rang exactly twice before he heard shuffling on the other end.

“Hello?”

Leorio released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and felt himself break into an easy grin. “Hey ‘Pika, how’s it going?”

“Fine, Leorio. And I told you not to call me that,” Kurapika’s voice sounded blessedly more friendly exasperated than actually frustrated. This was a good start. “Should I start calling you ‘Orio now?” 

Leorio winced slightly at how the nickname sounded. “… Point… taken.” He cleared his throat to give his brain time to supply a good conversation starter. “Hey, tomorrow’s Saturday!” _Great job, idiot._

“I am aware of the days of the week, Leorio.” The sound of Kurapika’s smile was apparent in his voice, and Leorio found his heart racing at this realization.

Leorio let out an indignant puff of air despite this, “Okay, smartass.” It was so comforting to return to what used to be their “normal”, tossing verbal jabs and light teasing back and forth in between mundane conversation. “If you know what day of the week it is, then what are your plans?”

Kurapika sighed, “I’m doing more research,” he said, the joy leaving his voice suddenly with his forced breath, leaving a morbid, stoic tone in its place. “I think I have a lead on a particular gang leader that might have access to some black market dealers. If possible, I’d like to put together a plan and track him down. If I work on schematics and collecting details tonight, I can potentially have an acceptable plan ready to implement early next week, but it will require a lot of leg work over the weekend. Why?”

“… Uhh.” Leorio swallowed, feeling very insignificant in the light of Kurapika’s existing plans. But, he didn’t come all this way just to turn around now. He coughed into his fist and dropped the bomb, “Zepile’s going on a date.”

He was met with silence. He felt his knee bounce as he leaned back on the couch. 

“A date?” Kurapika finally broke his silence to ask.

“… Yeah.” He felt extremely lame bringing this to Kurapika now.

“Zepile.” Kurapika’s voice made it sound like more of a statement than a question.

“Yeah?” At least Kurapika sounded half-interested now. That’s progress.

“Really?”

Leorio couldn’t help but let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah man, really.”

“Huh,” Kurapika’s voice was more thoughtful than he had expected. After a moment, he continued, “That poor girl.”

Leorio absolutely cackled, “Right?! Oh man, she has no idea what she’s got coming.”

Kurapika let out a small laugh. “Why are you telling me this, anyway?”

Leorio straightened up in his seat. Here it comes, time to make his pitch. “He begged me to come along as moral support.”

“Okay, and…?”

Even though he knew Kurapika couldn’t see it (maybe because of that), he grinned. “AND, I’m offering you front row seats to either the most adorably awkward experience of your life or the funniest trainwreck you’ll ever see.”

Kurapika let out a much more significant laugh, and after a thoughtful pause that left Leorio’s heart racing _(this guy is_ not _good for my resting heart rate)_ , he replied, “You are very lucky I make my own work schedule.” 

He let out a silent cheer as he pumped his fist in the air.

“What’s the catch?”

Leorio paused mid-fist pump. “Uh… You have to hang out with me all night?”

For a moment, he panicked that this wouldn’t be enough to convince Kurapika to come along. What if he’s more worn out than he’s letting on? What if the idea of hanging out with Leorio all night sounds more exhausting than fun? What if he doesn’t want to build up their relationship the way Leorio does?

While his mind raced, Kurapika let out another signature exasperated sigh. “You drive a hard bargain,” he replied, sarcasm dripping from his words. “What’s the plan for the evening?”

Relief washed over him in waves. He felt his smile return gradually, back to being thrilled at the idea of tomorrow evening. “We’re doing dinner at 7, then going to an art gallery. Does that sound good to you?” He thought over his words for a moment. “Not that I can change the plans for Zepile’s date, but it’s kind of a compulsory question, you know?” His hands were so sweaty.

“I do know,” came Kurapika’s amused tone. _At least my floundering benefits someone._ “That sounds good to me though. I’ll see you then.”

“Kurapika?” he asked, not quite ready for the conversation to be over, but not really knowing what else to say.

“Yes?”

Leorio hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh. “Nothing. I’m just. I’m looking forward to this.”

Kurapika hummed on the other end of the line. “Me too. Goodnight, Leorio.”

“Night,” he quietly replied.

For the first time in a long time, instead of waiting in fear for Kurapika to hang up, he felt jittery and excited as the line went dead.

\------

Some of Kurapika’s hair fell into his face on his next huffed exhale, and Leorio decided this was the time to be brave.

Very gently, he pushed the strands of hair back and up across the top of Kurapika’s head, admiring the way his hair felt between his fingers, and leaned in to kiss the crown of Kurapika’s head.

When he leaned back, he was met with a pair of bright glowing red eyes.

“Oh my god,” Leorio pulled away, “I- uh, shit I’m sorry!” he moved to get up and away from the situation, embarrassment overpowering the horrible pounding in his head. “I got uh, super duper drunk last night and I don’t remember most of what happened but I know that whatever just happened was probably weird and I-”

“Wait,” Kurapika sat up and grabbed Leorio’s wrist before he could make it off the bed. Leorio dared a glance back at Kurapika, who was staring at him so intently it made his heart break. “It’s okay. You just... surprised me.” He looked back and forth between Leorio’s face and their connected hands, as if he could find words in the space between them. “I- what do you remember?”

\-------

Dinner was… uneventful. At the beginning, Zepile went back and forth between talking way too much and not talking enough. He gave either long-winded, overly-descriptive anecdotes or clipped, gruff responses when talking to his date. The poor girl took everything in stride and worked to smooth the conversation over for the most part (as much as you could with an erratic Zepile on your hands). 

When the time came for her to head to the gallery opening, Zepile offered to escort her so she wouldn’t have to walk the (admittedly short) distance alone. This also meant, Leorio noticed, that Zepile left their checks with him and Kurapika. Leorio mildly grumbled about this, but when the waitress came around to ask how they wanted their checks, Kurapika surprised him by offering to pay for them all. When he stared and stuttered that it wasn’t necessary, Kurapika just shrugged. “It’s fine, really. I don’t mind.”

After Leorio verbally fumbled and promised to kick Zepile’s ass, Kurapika paid the check and the two headed towards their destination for the evening. The sun had just begun to set, and the city lights slowly flickered on to illuminate their way as they talked.

“How are classes treating you?” Kurapika asked.

Leorio shrugged. “About as well as med school classes can.”

“You didn’t goad them into cutting you any slack for being a Hunter, did you?”

Leorio bristled at the jab. “What? No!” He saw Kurapika give him a small, smug grin that said he knew Leorio had more to say. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “I did try to get my grade adjusted one time, and they threatened to kick me out of school.” He sheepishly admitted.

Kurapika’s expression flattened as he focused on the street in front of them. “Hmph. Serves you right.”

Leorio let out an affronted gasp. “Rude!”

Kurapika gave him a side-long glance. “No shortcut you can take in your education will ever do you any good.” he stated matter-of-factly as they crossed the street.

Leorio sighed, “I know, no one wants to go see a doctor who cheated his way through med school.”

“Not cheating, just… taking the easy way out.” Kurapika’s voice softened from his chastising tone into something more honest. “Earning your way through the honest way seems much more your style. I know how much this means to you, and you’ve been taking it so seriously. It’s… admirable.”

Leorio blinked as the words sunk in. “I thought for sure you were going to say ‘surprising’.”

Kurapika smirked. “Well, that too.”

Leorio elbowed him playfully, but found himself glowing at the mostly-compliment Kurapika dealt him. They were few and far between, and never without some added jab at his expense, but they still never failed to brighten his mood.

When they made their way to the gallery, they noticed that most of the art was mediocre at best. _I’ve never had an eye for this like Zep, but even I can tell most of this stuff stinks._ The questionable quality of the art did make a great conversation topic between him and Kurapika, as they peppered in commentaries and critiques of the pieces before them, occasionally laughing at the absurdity of the art in front of them, their conversation, or both.

During a lull in conversation between “critiques”, Kurapika spoke up. “Have you talked much to Gon and Killua lately?”

Leorio shrugged, eyeing an over-large canvas painting of some kind of fantasy bug creature. “I call ‘em about once a week. Gotta make sure they’re staying out of trouble, you know?” _and make sure that they’re alive_ , he kept to himself.

Kurapika hummed thoughtfully as they continued their slow crawl through the gallery. “Seeing them so carefree, exploring the wide open world ahead of them with such joy,” he stopped, turning to speak directly to Leorio instead of the pieces hanging on the wall, “it’s almost contagious, don’t you think?”

Leorio flushed slightly, attempting to cover up his blush with a closed fist as he coughed. “I think my days of adventuring like those two are over, but who knows,” he brought his hands up behind his head in another (failed) attempt to look laid-back. “Maybe once med school is over, I’ll decide I want to galavant around the world like them.”

“I can tell how much they care for each other,” Kurapika’s tone was surprisingly wistful, causing Leorio to catch a side-glance of his friend. Kurapika’s eyes were soft and crinkling slightly at the corners as he stared unfocused at the frankly undeserving minimalist painting in front of him, “From the very start, it wasn’t hard to see. Sometimes it makes me envious.” Leorio startled a bit at the admission, but Kurapika just chuckled at his companion’s shocked expression and continued on, “Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m incredibly happy for the two of them. I suppose a part of me just wishes I had something like that when I was growing up.”

“What about now?” Leorio blurted.

Kurapika blinked, the pensive spell broken at Leorio’s abrupt question. “What?”

“What about now?” Leorio repeated. “Better question, why _not_ now?”

“I…” Kurapika’s words faltered, clearly not expecting the line of questioning. Leorio knew that there was a part of him that would move heaven and earth if it meant that the last living Kurta was able to see beauty and joy in the world, and he’d fight every known god so that he could be there beside Kurapika as he experienced it.

In the moment, Kurapika averted his gaze and turned to walk the gallery path as he spoke much more seriously. “There’s a lot of work to be done here, I’d hate to see it abandoned for just a vacation.” Leorio sighed at the avoided question, and took long strides to catch up.

They continued to roam the gallery for a few more minutes, mostly in silence. They passed a few photography pieces that were genuinely impressive, and a few sculpture pieces that were… not so impressive. One piece was literally four plastic circles of different colors and sizes attached by red piping to make a zig-zagged pattern. _I could’ve made that_ , Leorio thought bitterly, _this kid just beat me to it._

A little further down the gallery, Leorio caught sight of Zepile talking animatedly to the girl, who seemed to be laughing at something Zepile said or did. He seemed more relaxed than he had at dinner, but not by much.

Kurapika broke through Leorio’s thoughts and their mutual silence. “Do you think they’re... Dating?” he asked in almost a whisper.

Leorio realized he’d been more or less staring. He pulled his attention away from Zepile’s crazed hand gestures and hunched slightly to pretend to examine the detail on another sculpture that appeared to be a computer’s motherboard. “Who, Zepile and the artist? I don’t think so, just seems like she’s too nice to reject him. She probably wanted more people in the door and thought he’d be an easy way-”

“No,” Kurapika cut him off gently, his stare intent on his hands as he fiddled with a loose string at the end of his shirtsleeve. “I mean… Killua and Gon.”

“Oh…” Leorio frowned slightly at the out-of-the-blue question. “Why do you ask?”

Kurapika brushed some hair out of his face and shrugged. “I’m just curious. You talk to them more than I do. What’s your read on their situation?”

Leorio thought for a moment. He’d contemplated this himself, but he’d never felt quite qualified to have a conversation with the two younger Hunters about the topic. “Not sure. Honestly, I’m not sure if it matters to them though, you know? They’re comfortable with what they’ve got, and they’ll always stick together.” He straightened his posture, deeming that the sculpture had been sufficiently scrutinized. “Plus, they’re so young, I’m not sure if it’s even occurred to them that they feel anything other than friendship.” He brought a hand to his chin, rubbing the stubble there as he spoke. “But if I had to put a label on their relationship, I think I’d say they’re dating, yeah.” He smirked slightly, sensing an opportunity to tease as he elbowed his friend gently, “Why, you jealous of that too?”

Kurapika shrugged again as they moved to the next sculpture. “I’m more proud than jealous, but I won’t lie that there’s an element of that.” Kurapika’s admission took Leorio by surprise for the second time that day. He was about to clarify that it was just a joke, worried that he’d hit a nerve too raw and needed to cover it back up immediately, when Kurapika continued. 

“They’ve grown so much, and the fact that so much of that growth has been together speaks volumes,” Kurapika said, his matter-of-fact tone turning into something more akin to affection, “It’s incredible. It feels like, despite how chaotic and messy they are, they always have each other, and they know it. I... really admire that.”

The conversation made Leorio uneasy. It wasn’t like Kurapika to share his thoughts so freely unless he had a point to make, much less to admit his feelings more than once in a short time span. He knew they were treading into potentially rocky waters with discussing relationships, but he decided to gently nudge the other on. “Seems like you’ve thought a lot about this.”

Kurapika hummed. “It’s been weighing on my mind lately.” There was a length of silence before he spoke again, his voice slightly less confident than his usual timbre. “There’s… someone I’ve been meaning to talk to. For a while now. About a lot of things, but mostly I just want to tell them,” he paused, as if looking for the right word, “how I feel. I’ve… never been particularly good at that.”

_Understatement of the century_ , Leorio thought as he felt his chest grow heavy with dread. The idea of Kurapika confessing his feelings to someone when Leorio felt like he was just getting back to the point where he might have a chance was painful. But at the same time, the knowledge that his friend had grown enough during their time apart to admit his feelings about much of anything filled him with a bittersweet sense of pride. He certainly didn’t want to diminish that progress with his own selfish moping. 

“I’ve never seen you feel this strongly about anything that isn’t revenge or books.” Leorio remarked as playfully as he could manage.

Kurapika rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the artwork in front of them. “Ha ha, very funny.”

Leorio sighed. _Don’t be a dick, it’s time to be the supportive friend right now_ , he thought as he barreled forward.

“Seriously though,” he started, “if… whoever this is, is sparking feelings like this, I think you should talk to them.” he slouched a little as he turned to properly face his friend, one hand sheepishly moved to the back of his neck in an attempt to look casual while the other gestured vaguely. “They… really don’t know what they’re missing out on.” It wasn’t quite a confession, but once he let the words out, he knew he meant every single one.

Kurapika startled slightly at his words and turned from the gallery to properly face him. “Leorio-”

“Hey!” They both flinched at the volume of Zepile’s greeting in the midst of the otherwise quiet gallery. They received some curious and largely put-off stares from other patrons as Zepile threw his arms over his friends’ shoulders, either too oblivious to notice the conversation’s more serious aura and the unhappy art patrons, or too awkward to care. “Let’s get the hell out of here. What do you boys say to a little casual clubbing tonight?”

Kurapika’s poker-face was in full effect as he looked at Zepile. “She ditched you, didn’t she.” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement, and despite the earlier tension, Kurapika’s straight-faced, serious look had Leorio grinning with mirth at his friend’s misfortune.

Zepile flinched. _Bingo_ , Leorio thought, but may as well have said given how his grin grew and his shoulders slightly shook from laughter. Zepile leveled them both with a conspiratorial look. “I’ll pay for the first two rounds if neither of you mention it again.”

Leorio’s laughter halted instantly as he pointed an accusatory finger and whisper-yelled, “YOU are paying for ALL of our rounds, you check-skirting weasel!”

Next to him, Kurapika hid his laughter behind his hand, and Leorio felt his stomach do gymnastics at the sound.

_Fuck if I’m not gonna enjoy having him around while I still can._

\-------

Leorio gulped, sitting himself awkwardly on the edge of the bed, as he attempted to recall his embarrassments from the night before. “I… remember dinner, and the art gallery’s crystal clear. About halfway through the bar is when my memory starts to get fuzzy.” he paused, eyes going wide at his suddenly returning memory. “I- wait, did we kiss?”

Kurapika broke eye contact, looking down at the sheets as he responded. “Y-yes…”

Leorio was mortified. As he turned to fully face Kurapika, his mouth started moving before his brain could fully catch up. “Oh, oh my god Kurapika, I’m so sorry. I never should have put you in that situation, that was completely wrong of me.” he knew he was babbling, but he needed to get everything out immediately. He owed that to Kurapika after what he’d done to him. “I was drunk, way more drunk than I usually get when I go out and normally I try to be a better communicator about things like that but-”

“You were…” Kurapika cut him off, still looking down at the sheets, pulling at the pilled fabric as he carefully chose his words. “Very communicative, actually.”

Leorio blinked at his friend. “W-what does that mean?”

Kurapika pushed his bangs off his forehead, and even though he was still looking down, Leorio noticed there was a blush high on his cheeks. “You kept asking me if everything we were doing was okay. Like, over and over again, even after I’d said yes.”

“Oh…” Leorio relaxed his shoulders slightly. “S-so I didn’t like, force myself on you?”

At that, Kurapika’s head finally snapped up. His red eyes looked taken aback when he spoke, “No, absolutely not.”

Leorio breathed out a sigh of relief and fell back to the pillows.. “Oh thank god.” he scrubbed his hands across his face, but stopped abruptly when Kurapika’s words hit him. “Wait… you… what did you say yes to?”

Stone-faced, Kurapika gestured vaguely around the room, looking everywhere but directly at Leorio. “More than we ended up doing.” 

Leorio felt his face heat at the implication. “Oh…”

Kurapika’s words sounded genuinely disappointed. Or at least, as disappointed as Kurapika allowed himself to be around people. Leorio tried to put the pieces together in his head, trying to remember the ‘more’ that they had talked about, and he was pissed that he kept coming up blank.

He’d clearly stayed silent for too long, quietly berating himself for drinking so carelessly and getting sloppy, because Kurapika let out a long-suffering sigh. He sat up slowly from the bed, eyes closed all the while. “You don’t have to pity me. I understand - you were drunk, and that was perhaps not the most noble of your moments, but you don’t need to spare my feelings, honestly.”

“Kurapika-” Leorio tried to say as he started to sit up, but winced in pain on his way up so the name came out as more of a grunt.

“I mean,” Kurapika barrelled forward, “especially if you don’t remember, it doesn’t seem particularly fair to hold you to your words when you were under the influence.” 

“Kurapika.” Leorio repeated, this time more confidently.

“It was a fun night and we can leave it at that and forget that any of the things after the gallery happened, no harm done. I mean, it’s not like we had-”

“Kurapika!” Leorio bolted upright, continuing on before he lost his nerve or the headache knocked him down, “Listen, I may not remember what happened last night but goddammit I wish I did, especially if it means I finally got to kiss you. God, it’s so fucking unfair that I don’t even get to remember that.”

Kurapika’s eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape. “You- what was that?”

Leorio let out a frustrated groan, his hands fisting in his hair as he looked back and forth between Kurapika and his old sheets. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a really long time and it’s been eating away at me that I didn’t have the guts to tell you how I felt until you mentioned that you were interested in someone at the art gallery. So I went a little too hard last night to try to drown my pathetic sorrows. But instead of just getting drunk and feeling bad about myself, the only thing I wanted, the one thing that was putting me into a miserable mess because I thought I could never have it, actually happened? And because I was so busy wallowing in my own self-pity at the beginning of the night, I don’t even get to remember any of it?! I’m so fucking mad I couldn’t make this something special, fuck. I’ve been thinking about this moment for a really long time…”

Unknowingly, Kurapika had brought his hand to his sternum, looking shocked and maybe a little scandalized. “H-how long is... ‘a really long time’?”

His hand crept to the back of his neck, feeling slightly embarrassed at his outburst and how vulnerable he had made himself. _You’re already in your boxers, dipshit. Might as well go for broke._ He sighed, “Jesus, I don’t know, it kind of snuck up on me to be honest. Over a year?”

Kurapika’s shocked-wide eyes looked anywhere but back at Leorio. _Well that certainly doesn’t seem like a good sign._ He started putting together a way to backtrack, attempting to salvage what now remained of the friendship Leorio had apparently bombed, when Kurapika nearly whispered, “I… I’ve wanted this, for a long time too.”

“Wait, what?” Leorio asked, “What about the uh... the other guy, you were talking about.”

Kurapika remained silent.

It was like a lightbulb went off in his head as he connected the dots. “O-Oh! Oh. Ohhhh.”

Kurapika laughed, a small but genuine thing. “Your grasp of language continues to astound scholars around the world.”

His sarcastic words did nothing to dull the warmth Leorio felt spreading from his chest. Kurapika liked him. He’d been talking about him last night. He was genuinely interested in Leorio. They both just confessed and they’re in bed together and they _kissed_ -

“I- wait,” Leorio’s brain came to a screeching halt as he came across that last thought. “I need to go brush my teeth. Not, er, not saying anything will happen, it just tastes like something died in my mouth.”

Kurapika let out a huffed breath of a laugh. “That would be wise then, yes.”

Leorio produced a spare toothbrush from his bathroom closet and received only a little teasing about the first aid kit he had labeled “GON SUPPLIES” that sat directly next to a set of spare sheets and a shirt/shorts combo that were definitely too small for Leorio. 

“Do you think you’re enabling them?” Kurapika asked playfully as he wet his toothbrush

“Psh, more like saving myself the headache of trying to scrounge together supplies when two beat-up teenagers inevitably show up at my apartment and scare the shit out of my neighbors.” Leorio responded, toothpaste foam muffling his words slightly before he spat into the sink. “I taught myself how to bake so I could start leaving Mrs. Watanabe apology gifts. Keeps her from calling the cops on me.”

Kurapika covered his mouth to keep from spraying his own toothpaste foam everywhere as he laughed, and if every moment leading up to this one wasn’t already an indicator, the way his heart leapt at the gesture was a definite sign that he was fucked.

Once they’d finished in the bathroom, the calm, teasing air dissipated into something more uncertain and tense. Kurapika sat on the edge of the bed as Leorio hovered awkwardly nearby.

“So…” Leorio trailed off lamely, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So.” Kurapika repeated with only light teasing in his tone.

Leorio huffed a laugh as he met Kurapika’s gaze. “You wanted to kiss me?”

Kurapika smiled, surprisingly shy in the moment, as he pushed a strand of long hair behind his ear. “I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

“Oh…” Kurapika had been the one to ask? If he wasn’t angry before, he was officially furious at himself now for getting too drunk last night. He put those thoughts out of his head as he sat down to Kurapika’s right. _He’s here right now_ , he thought, _don’t lose him again_. “Do you… Can I kiss you now?”

Kurapika smiled a soft, easy smile. “I wish you would.”

Their lips touched gently, a barely there thing at first that still had Leorio’s stomach in absolute knots. Kurapika clearly sensed his nerves and took over, turning his head slightly to deepen the kiss and Leorio melted at how natural it felt. 

Kissing Kurapika felt like something he was meant to do. It felt like taking a shower after a hard work day, like the first bite of a perfectly good meal. It felt like coming home.

He leaned further into the kiss, his hands moving to Kurapika’s hips at the same time Kurapika moved to put his arms around Leorio’s neck, hands moving to scratch his scalp causing him to let out a soft moan. Their kisses were surprisingly soft despite how they seemed to be fighting to get the rest of their bodies as physically close as possible.

Leorio squeezed Kurapika’s sides, trying to pull him in closer, when Kurapika let out his own groan and flicked his tongue along the seam of Leorio’s lips, firmly but not forcefully asking for entry. His lips parted just enough to let Kurapika in, letting their tongues run against each other. Kurapika tasted like minty toothpaste and lingering cinnamon whiskey, and Leorio knew he was in deep when he found himself addicted to the taste.

He was quite honestly impressed with his ability to pull away for more than a moment, but he knew he had to clear the air.

“You.. uh…”

Kurapika chuckled and damn, that is a sound he could get used to. “Eloquent as always, Leorio.” 

“Oh shut up!” he replied with absolutely no venom in his voice. “I was going to say, before I was so rudely interrupted...” Kurapika rolled his eyes affectionately. “You mentioned you said yes to more than what happened last night. Is… is any of that still on the table, or-”

Kurapika grinned even wider. “Very much so, yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for making it this far! You rock.


End file.
